BREWERY WASTEWATER TREATMENT WITHOUT ACTIVATED
SLUDGE BULKING PROBLEMS
Mark G. Biesinger, Senior Process Engineer
H. David Stensel, Manager
Wastewater Technology
Eimco PMD
Division of Envirotech Corporation
Salt Lake City, Utah 84110
David Jenkins, Professor
Sanitary Engineering Research Laboratory
University of California
Berkeley, California 94720
The treatment of brewery wastewater by the activated sludge process often has been
hindered by the development of filamentous activated sludge that settles slowly and compacts poorly.
Eikelboom [1,2] has morphologically characterized more than 20 types of filamentous
organisms present in activated sludge. The presence of a wide variety of a filamentous
organisms in activated sludge suggests that there are a variety of conditions that cause
their rapid growth and the ensuing sludge bulking. Recent work by Eikelboom [1,2] and
Strom and Jenkins [3] indicated that types of organisms that cause bulking can to some
extent be associated with process conditions and/or waste characteristics. The data in
Table I shows that the types of filamentous organisms that are associated with low organic
loads (F/M) are different from those found at conventional organic loads or low aeration
basin dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations. Palm et al. [4] found that for completely
mixed activated sludge systems treating domestic wastewater, there exists for each F/M
value in the range of 0.2-1.8 g COD/g VSS/day, a mixed liquor DO concentration below
which bulking (due to Sphaerotilus natans) will occur as a result of low DO. The work of
Eckenfelder and Jewell [3] on brewery wastewater corroborates these findings since their
SVI, F/M and operating DO data fit the curve of Palm et al. [4].
Table I. Common Filamentous Organisms in Various Activated Sludge Systems
Activated
Sludge Condition
Eikelboom [1,2]
Strom & Jenkins [5, 6]
Low F/M
Conventional F/Ma
Microthrix parvicella,
Haliscomenobacter hydrossis.
Type 0092, Type 0041, Type 0581
Type 0803
Sphaerotilus natans,
Haliscomenobacter hydrossis.
Type 02IN, Type 1701
Nocardia sp, Type 0041,
Microthrix parvicella. Type 0581,
Type   0961,   Haliscomenobacter
hydrossis
Low Aeration Basin DO
Nocardia sp, Type 1701,
sphaerotilus natans. Type  1863,
Type   021N,   Haliscomenobacter
hydrossis
It is suspected that Eikelboom's conventional F/M conditions are also situations where aeration basin
DO is too low for the F/M applied.
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